Random Thoughts

AiT/Planet Lar has redesigned their website. Now we just need an RSS feed so I can add them to bloglines.

Tonight is the Bothell Blogger Bash as organized by Garrett Fitzgerald. If you happen to be in Bothell, it's at The Lyon's Den at 7pm. I'll be wearing my "I'm Blogging This" Shirt.

Boing Boing points us to these disturbing disease collector cards, downloadable so you can print out your own sets. *shudder*

Boing Boing also directs us to a page on Advanced Google syntax, so you can improve your results from Google.

The final round of Comic Book Idol is up for perusal. The entries are up on the forum, and here are my thoughts on them...

Jason Masters: lots of heavy inks, but a limited view of our hero, Nate Elling, who should be the focus of attention. I like his space-suited samurai a lot, though, it fits the line in the script that says "It should look very odd, make-shift, like something a kid pretending to be a Samurai might put together." The backgrounds are very spare, and as I read the script and compared it to the work I kept thinking that there should be something more. The cover I like a lot, as it makes Elling look like a knight.

Carlos Rodriguez: because of the lack of inks, it seems much less finished than Masters' work. But that's all to the good, I think. The detail makes this one. There's a strong focus on Elling, and you get a better sense of what he's thinking from the excellent facial expressions. I don't like this space-suited samurai as much, mostly because it looks a little too well-made to fit the description in the script. But I prefer just about everything else.

I'll be voting for Rodriguez in the final, but either one of these guys would make a great artist for any book.